Annable's new character, Melanie, is very much a guy's girl, a handy trait since she's the only woman among the men hired for various protection jobs. "I can hold my own with all these clowns," Annable says with a laugh. "I'm just not 'eye candy' in the show; I'm the team's lock picker and safecracker, and without me, they wouldn't be breaking in."

"Breaking In" has had quite a history in getting on the air. Fox initially passed on the show for the current season, then it suddenly was revived as a midseason replacement.

"It's always that anticipation of 'Are we going to get picked up or are we not?' " Annable reflects. "We kept hearing we were the highest-testing comedy pilot, then we got the call saying we'd fallen through the cracks. I was ready to move on, then we got a call saying that they decided passing this up was a bad choice. In the TV world, it's rare that anything gets picked up after it's already been put on the cutting-room floor."

If Annable had to revise any other career plans in order to do "Breaking In," she doesn't seem to mind: "It's been a fun ride, and I feel like I'm just getting started."